Chapter 249: Radio

Wei Jichen saw a crew member move to the side, revealing a device on the boat.

Wei Jichen was about to walk over with a look of surprise, but Yang Yonglin saw where his eyes were and came forward and said in confusion: "Marshal Wei, no one on the boat can use this thing yet. It looks no different from a telegraph transceiver, but why is there no line?"

If there is anything else in the Qing Dynasty that is worthy of Wei Jichen's surprise, it is its telegraph business. Thanks to the Westernization faction such as Li Hongzhang and Sheng Xuanhuai, the telegraph industry in the Qing Dynasty developed rapidly.

In 1882, land lines were built in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and other provinces; in 1883, Beiyang seized the Yangtze River line from Zuo Zongtang of the Chu faction; from 1884 to 1885, due to the tight coastal defense, the Jinan-Yantai line was set up for the war, and then added to Weihai, Liugong Island and other places.

In 1887, due to the need to "prepare for relief work" after the Yellow River burst in Zhengzhou, a line was set up from Jining to Kaifeng; in 1888, a line was set up from Jiujiang, Jiangxi to Ganzhou to reach Yuling and enter Nanxiong to connect with the official line of Guangdong.

In 1889, due to the need for border defense in the three northeastern provinces, a land line from Jilin to Hunchun was added from Fengtian; in 1890, "because Xiangfan was a thoroughfare for several provinces entering Beijing and a key point at the border of northern Chu", a line was set up from Shashi to Xiangyang; in 1893, a line was added from Xiangyang to Laohekou; in 1895, an electric line was set up from Xi'an to connect with Laohekou; and even more than 2,000 miles of telegraph lines were built for the vassal state of Korea.

These are all trunk lines, and there are even more branch lines, and these are all lines laid by the Chinese themselves, which were won by defeating several companies of the great powers. The telegraph lines laid by the great powers can only be connected to the coast and then connected to the dry lines on the Chinese side.

So the telegraph is not new. What Yang Yonglin found strange is that the submarine actually has a telegraph transceiver installed inside. This puzzled him. Aren't telegraphs connected through lines?

The telegraph on the submarine cannot be connected to the lines, so what's the point of installing it? Perhaps this device that looks like a telegraph transceiver is not a telegraph transceiver at all.

Wei Jichen recognized it at a glance. It is clearly a radio.

The radio was first invented by the scientific genius Nikola Tesla in 1893, and radio communication was first publicly demonstrated. In 1897, he obtained a radio patent technology in the United States. However, Tesla was a poor scientist and did not have much power.

The British Marconi lagged behind a little. He conducted a wireless telegraph communication experiment in 1895 and successfully obtained a British patent that year. Marconi's economic backers in the United States included Edison, Carnegie and others. Needless to say, Edison had originally excluded and suppressed Tesla because of problems such as AC motors, so that Tesla was poor and no one was willing to invest in him.

These powerful people united and made the US Patent Office revoke Tesla's patent and grant Marconi the patent for inventing radio.

This is a long story. In short, Marconi had to wait until 1897 to establish a wireless telegraph company. Since the Chinese had contact with wired telegraph earlier, they introduced radio quickly. Just two years later, in early 1899, the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi bought several old Marconi spark radios and installed them on fortresses and ships. This time, China's application of radio was almost synchronized with Europe and the United States, because in the same year, Marconi persuaded the British government to build a radio station. China responded quickly and was already above most European countries.

Unexpectedly, the submarine purchased from the system actually had a radio. A Marconi radio cost about two thousand taels of silver, which was definitely a big price.

Wei Jichen was really surprised. With a radio on the submarine, the commander of the submarine detachment could really play a role and effectively unite the three submarines to form a real wolf pack.

The submarine where the commander was located was the head wolf, commanding other hungry wolves to attack together.

Without the radio, the submarines could not communicate with each other after diving into the water, and could only cooperate based on experience. With this thing, cooperation between them would become extremely easy.

Isn't this enough to surprise him? And Wei Jichen thought of another possibility.

Since there is a radio on the submarine, is there a radio sold separately in the system?

Wei Jichen thought of this and didn't even say anything. He immediately entered the system to check.

This thing should belong to the super technology system, right?

Wei Jichen clicked in quickly with uncertainty, with a little expectation and uneasiness in his heart.

Sure enough, Wei Jichen was overjoyed. In addition to the Baihua Yulu Pills, there was another item that could be purchased in the super technology, which was the Marconi radio.

Looking down and looking at the price, Wei Jichen felt that it was still acceptable: 2,000 merit points for one.

He began to plan in his mind. Well, for the time being, he had to equip Zhang Zuolin with one, Li Que'er with one, and Unit A with one. Changxing Island not only needed one, but also a telegraph station should be established.

All other overt commands can be transmitted via wired telegraphs, so for now, we only need to configure these few secret strongholds.

Fortunately, I have foresight. The engineering team of the Dingliao Army has a telegraph team, and the personnel in it can be transferred out. Radio and wired telegraphs are only different in principle, but they are almost the same in application. As long as you can operate a wired telegraph machine, you don’t need to spend much effort to operate a radio machine.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the principle. I’m not asking you to build it, you just need to know how to use it.

Haha, with this thing, in the future, commanding the troops to fight will be as easy as arms and fingers, which is extremely convenient and fast.

Wei Jichen's silly smile didn't matter, but it made the crew watching beside him anxious.

In the end, Yang Yonglin coughed heavily, which woke Wei Jichen up and exited the system.

"Wei Shuai, is this a telegraph machine?" Yang Yonglin looked at Wei Jichen who seemed to recognize him and asked.

Wei Jichen lit a cigar, took a sip, and nodded: "Yes, this is a wireless telegraph machine. There must be one on the other two submarines. In this way, our three submarines can communicate with each other when they are at sea. Once When one of the submarines spots prey, it can summon the other submarines, and this is how the wolf pack tactics can be implemented."

Yang Yonglin said with surprise and a bit of disbelief: "There is such a strange thing that can communicate without a line."

Wei Jichen sighed and said with emotion: "When wired telegraphy first appeared, didn't anyone believe that the two places were so far apart that news could be transmitted through a small wire? Now across the ocean The technological changes in China are rapid. Radio technology has been invented a long time ago, but it has not yet been introduced into our country.”

Everyone was silent. There were a large number of foreign sailors in the Beiyang Fleet. These sailors had been in contact with them for a long time, and their minds were more open-minded. They turned to think of the self-proclaimed imperial court, which made everyone silent. The atmosphere in the cabin was tense. The time is a bit dull.

Yang Yonglin broke the silence and said meaningfully: "Wei Shuai is now the general of Liaodong. He has extraordinary knowledge, learns skills from foreigners, and keeps pace with the times. He will definitely be able to change Liaodong and even the whole of China, so as to catch up with the great powers." countries.”

Yang Yonglin said this to the crew members, and the meaning contained in it is somewhat meaningful and worth pondering.

Most of the crew members' eyes lit up, and they looked at Wei Jichen with a very different look than before, with a lot of fanaticism and following.

It is not good to say something that is too clear. Wei Jichen smiled and changed the subject: "Okay, I will transfer one or two reliable people from the telegraph office to conduct experiments. I will tell you whether the communication can be communicated. I will know after giving it a try." ”

Wei Jichen gave the order, and everyone waited in the submarine while talking.

During this period, Wei Jichen told the crew about the technological development of Western countries. His explanation was so reasonable and convincing that people had to believe it. For a moment, the crew admired him even more, and they all thought in their hearts: I didn't expect that Wei Shuai would be so powerful. It is really rare to be in a high position and study so tirelessly and be proficient in Chinese and Western things.

When the two telegraph operators hurried over, everyone was staring at Wei Jichen attentively, and they were still not satisfied with what they heard.

"Wei Shuai." The four telegraph operators saluted Wei Jichen while looking at the submarine curiously.

Before the shock in their hearts subsided, Wei Jichen ordered: "This is where you will work from now on. Let's take a look at this wireless telegraph machine first to see if it can be used."

When the four of them heard Wei Jichen's words, they walked quickly to the radio. They all screamed in surprise when they saw it. Fortunately, they knew that now was not the time to ask questions, so they all quickly got busy.

"Wei Shuai, you can be sure that this is a telegraph machine." After a moment, one of the telegraph operators turned to Wei Jichen to report.

Wei Jichen curled his lips. Of course he knew it was a telegraph machine.

Fortunately, the telegraph operator immediately said: "If there is another identical device, communication between each other should be possible, although we don't know how the communication between each other is transmitted."

"It should be the Hertzian method." Wei Jichen thought for a while and said with a smile.

Hertz was a German scientist who confirmed the existence of electromagnetic waves.

The telegraph operator was stunned and asked humbly: "Did Commander Wei say that he exists the same as light?"

Light is also a kind of electromagnetic wave. The telegraph operator is obviously also a diligent and inquiring person, and has read some foreign theoretical knowledge.

"Well, they are essentially the same, just with different wavelengths and frequencies." Seeing that the telegraph operator wanted to ask again, Wei Jichen waved his hand and said, "There is also a radio on the other submarine. You can take one person there. Send it and see if it can be received here.”

If the telegraph operator continued to ask questions, Wei Jichen would reveal his secret. He was only half a bucket full of water, so Wei Jichen quickly changed the subject.

Seeing this, the telegraph operator could only suppress his desire for knowledge and led another telegraph operator and several crew members to Hungry Wolf Two.

The remaining two telegraph operators sat excitedly next to the radio, turned on the receiving device, and waited excitedly for the news.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to release their breath, and waited to see if the communication could be carried out.

Everyone was not kept waiting for long, only the sound of ticking was heard in the small space. One telegraph operator looked excited and quickly adjusted the receiving device on the equipment, while the other telegraph operator quickly wrote something on the paper. Record something.

Everyone was overjoyed when they saw this situation. Judging from the expressions on their faces, they must be in trouble.

"Wei...Wei Shuai, it really got through." After the telegraph operator was busy for a few seconds, he suddenly shouted and couldn't help but quickly handed the paper in his hand to Wei Jichen.

"It worked, it worked." Yang Yonglin muttered to himself, with a look of disbelief on his face.

The other crew members also crowded together excitedly, wanting to come forward and watch.

Wei Jichen picked up the paper and looked at it, only to see that it was full of numbers, which should be telegram numeric codes.

"Quick, translate it." Although Wei Jichen knew that he could communicate, he was also very excited at this time because of their influence.

The telegraph operator responded. He was too excited. He handed Wei Jichen only a bunch of numbers. He quickly took out the Chinese character code book "New Edition of Chinese Telegraph" compiled by Zheng Guanying and checked it quickly.

While checking, he began to convert the numbers into Chinese characters and wrote them down on paper.

"One... number, one... number!" Everyone read out in unison as the telegraph operator wrote each word, "This... is... number... two!"

"Wow, it was sent from Hungry Wolf No. 2."

"It's incredible."

The crew members were talking about it.

"One, this is number... two!" The telegraph operator stood up and reported to Wei Jichen loudly: "Yes, this is from Hungry Wolf No. 2. We succeeded, General Wei!"

Everyone was so happy that they jumped and shouted. A new technology would be used first on their submarine. How could everyone not be happy?